Chapter 263: Former Genius Taarabt! Conserving Energy! Heading to Stamford Bridge!
Three days later, on October 25th, the eighth round of the Premier League was about to kick off at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal was facing Queens Park Rangers in this match, a newly promoted team this season. Their strength was average, and they were at the bottom of the league table with a record of 1 win, 1 draw, and 5 losses since the start of the season.
Speaking of which, this team had quite a history with Maël.
That year, when helping Sheffield United get promoted to the Premier League, he defeated Queens Park Rangers, who were in second place at the time, in the final round of the EFL Championship, helping Norwich, who were in third place, make a comeback and directly qualify for the Premier League.
Queens Park, who ultimately fell into the play-off zone, lost to Cardiff City and regrettably remained in the second-tier league. They only managed to get promoted after a year of lying low, and the team had lost its initial vigor.
It's hard to say that their fans didn't harbor animosity towards Maël. After all, if it weren't for that Heavy Cannon Game-winning goal, they would have been in the Premier League for a season already.
Moreover, Sheffield United had already secured promotion, and they could have played a tacit game to get promoted together, but Maël still didn't give them that opportunity.
Even if, in theory, competitive sports should pursue victory and strive to win respect... Looking back at the process with the final result in mind, Queens Park fans still couldn't let Maël go.
"Take down Arsenal!!"
"Avenge Maël!!"
Before the game, Queens Park Rangers' traveling fans shouted in unison outside the stadium, and related banners were brought into the stadium and displayed in the stands.
Normally, they might not have dared to do so, after all, the gap between the last place in the league and the first place was too big. The bottom team shouting to kill the top team would be ridiculed.
But today, facing a group of extremely tired Arsenal players, facing Maël who had been fighting in multiple rounds, they saw hope and felt they had a chance! Arsenal, who barely managed a draw against Schalke 04, were back on the Premier League stage after only two days of rest. The fatigue of the main players would only get worse. In this situation, Queens Park wasn't without a chance!
"Welcome, viewers, to the eighth round of the Premier League. Arsenal is at home..."
Amidst the broadcasts of commentators from various regions, the starting players of both sides walked out of the player tunnel and stood on the grass in the center of the Emirates Stadium.
It was only then that the Queens Park fans realized something: where was Maël?
At this stage of the Premier League, the starting lineups were announced about 65 minutes before the game. However, the fans at this time were not yet accustomed to obtaining the starting lists in advance on social media, and more often waited for the broadcast or observed with their own eyes.
The Queens Park fans didn't know Arsenal's starting lineup at all before the game. Now, they saw that the people in each position had been completely shuffled.
Arsenal was in a 4-3-3 formation today, with Lloris, Gibbs, Koscielny, Vermaelen, and João Pereira in the backfield.
The three midfielders were Gilbert, Alexandre Song, and Chamberlain.
In the forward line, Podolski occupied the left wing, Giroud played as the center forward, and Walcott, Little Tiger, was on the right.
A brand new lineup! All second-tier players! The Queens Park Rangers fans' faces turned green, and they felt that they had been too optimistic before the game, thinking that Arsenal's management and Wenger's coaching staff were too stupid. This team had also chosen to change.
What was even more deadly was that this second-tier lineup looked even stronger than their Queens Park Rangers' first-tier lineup!
Half of these players were Arsenal's main team last season, and some of the people who came later were also very strong, with transfer fees of around 10 million euros.
It could be said that the Queens Park fans' idea of enduring the exhausted first-tier lineup before the game had failed. What they were facing was a 1.5-tier team with strong soldiers and horses! "Bip!"
The whistle of the game sounded, and the players of the two teams began to clash. They must have known who they would be facing before the game, so there was no surprise.
"Here comes one! Chamberlain's Cannon Shot! These Arsenal players are playing very proactively and confidently!"
"Before the game, some people said that they hadn't seen them appear on the field at the same time for a long time, and they were afraid that their coordination and feeling for the game would be reduced, but now it seems that they are not affected at all!"
"."
"Taarabt! He's a bit overwhelmed, ah, the ball is still intercepted!"
"Fans familiar with Maël should also be familiar with him. In Maël's EFL Championship season, Former Genius Taarabt was his biggest competitor. He was a player who scored and assisted over 20 goals in the EFL Championship that season! 'Genius! Star!' That's how people described him! It's a pity that after another season in the EFL Championship, he gradually seemed powerless when he reached the Premier League. I wonder if he will feel emotional when he sees his former opponent Maël at this time."
"."
"Giroud with a through ball! Podolski is past! A shot!! And a follow-up shot!!"
"Chamberlain!! Youngster Chamberlain took the lead in breaking the deadlock! Goal! "One to zero! Arsenal is back! After a tough battle in the Champions League, they showed the competitiveness of a league powerhouse in the Premier League! Even if they play with the second team, they can suppress Queens Park!"
"."
"Second goal!! 40 minutes into the game! Arsenal leads two to zero!!"
"No one thought that Gibbs' cross from the left would directly spin into the goal! César was not prepared for this ball!"
"."
"Three to zero! Only 2 minutes into the second half, Arsenal basically ended the suspense of this Premier League Round 8 match!
"Giroud showed the qualities that a center forward should have, he is a qualified and excellent goal poacher!"
"."
"Taarabt! Pulled one back with his personal ability! But you can see the fatigue on his face. It is indeed difficult for the others in Queen's Park to provide him with effective support, and his ability cannot be fully utilized! "The cheers at the scene are not loud, and the away fans are obviously a little dissatisfied with the situation on the field."
"."
After the Emirates Stadium was silent for a while, during a dead ball, there was a sudden burst of excited shouts in the stadium, "Ohhhh!!"
This shout made everyone look around, and even the starting players on the field looked for the source of the sound.
Finally, people saw Maël, wearing the Arsenal No. 7 jersey, standing on the sidelines with a bright smile, as if he had been waiting for a long-awaited appearance.
His last appearance was not that long ago, but for him, who was eager for more goals and wanted to play all the time, 65 minutes was considered a long time.
In any case, the emotion that others saw on his face was indeed like this!
"Maël is on, replacing Podolski!!" The on-site broadcast sounded, bringing up a more enthusiastic burst of cheers.
On the field, watching Maël stride onto the field, a trace of memory and absent-mindedness appeared in Taarabt's eyes.
He had never communicated with Maël. The extremely arrogant him at the beginning did not think that this kid would go further than himself in Football.
But now, everything seems to be different. He is just a Premier League promoted player, just the core of the Premier League's bottom team.
And Maël not only led Arsenal to win the double crown, but also led the French Team to win the European Cup, becoming the core and captain of these two top teams in the club field and the national team field! He and Maël can really be regarded as worlds apart now.
For a player who has long been accustomed to the title of genius and has received countless praises, when he feels that the gap between himself and another genius is so big and so exaggerated.
Even when there is an insurmountable gap in the middle, his mood must be very complicated.
Perhaps, Taarabt, who has restrained his character and temper a lot since this season, has become mature because he has seen Maël and has been in a complicated mood for a long time.
"Beep!!"
After the whistle sounded to restart the game, Arsenal's right back Gibbs threw the ball out of bounds towards center back Koscielny, and the players on the field ran again.
The Queens Park Rangers fans were silent, they hid the banners declaring war on Arsenal and Maël.
After the abacus failed, they dared not provoke disputes with the top team and the best players, nor did they have the face to do so.
After all, this Maël who came on at this time was not the exhausted one; on the contrary, it was his Queen's Park defenders who were suffering the plight of being beaten like 'stray dogs'.
In the 72nd minute of the match, Maël, facing the direction of attack for the first time with the ball, threw the right-back area of Queens Park Rangers into chaos.
"Pa boom...!"
Bosingwa, who came up first, was dribbled past with a sudden stop and pull, followed by a sudden acceleration that forced Mbia, who was rushing to defend at high speed, to stretch his foot and trip him in the penalty area.
"Bip!!" The referee's whistle sounded, and his right hand also pointed to the penalty spot.
Penalty!
Maël created a penalty opportunity as soon as he came on!! "Pa!"
Maël sat on the ground and smiled, high-fiving Giroud, then took advantage of the strength of the other's arm to stand up and walked towards the penalty spot.
In the process, he saw the referee show Mbia a yellow card, and then flipped out a red card.
Two yellows turned into one red! Queens Park Rangers were left with only 10 men to fight! "Boom!!"
Maël then kicked the penalty, pushing the ball to the right. Because he was afraid of hitting it high or wide, he didn't put too much force into the shot, nor did he pursue the angle, but just twisted his ankle to deceive the goalkeeper.
When Van Persie is not on the field, he is the team's first penalty taker.
Before developing comprehensive shooting skills, he temporarily didn't have the idea of replacing Van Persie as the penalty taker... But since the opportunity arose, he still wanted to seize it and lay the groundwork for the future.
"Shua!" The football crossed into the net, and Queens Park goalkeeper César misjudged the direction.
Four to one!
"Aaahhh!!"
Maël smiled and ran to the sidelines, jumping up vigorously to show off his muscle lines, and finally punching the sky.
"Arsenal score from multiple points, defeating Queens Park Rangers four to one!! Maintaining their position at the top of the standings!" - BBC Premier League column
"Chelsea slaughtered Reading six to zero! Benzema scored 2 goals! Fabregas 1 goal and 2 assists! Many new players in the team ushered in an explosion!" - Sky Sports Premier League column
"The battle of Tianwang Mountain is about to begin! On the 31st of this month, Arsenal will challenge Chelsea at Stamford Bridge!" - French L'Équipe
"First: Arsenal, 22 points; Second: Chelsea, 22 points; Third: Manchester City, 19 points; Fourth: Manchester United, 17 points." - Premier League standings after 8 rounds. After a day of rest on October 26, most of Arsenal's main players and rotation players went to Reading's away game for the EFL Cup 1/8 final, which was their second-to-last game of the month.
Maël was not selected for the match squad this time. Perhaps Wenger thought he was a little too tired, so he let him rest at home for a game.
Moreover, the game against Reading was probably not a difficult one, and others were enough to solve the problem.
Maël gladly accepted and gathered with his other teammates at his home early, drinking beverages and eating dried fruits, waiting for the start of the game.
"What's going on?"
Gilbert lay on his side on the sofa, with his hands behind his head, and smiled at Maël: "Before going to the national team, you had 12 goals and 4 assists in 7 Premier League games, and 3 goals and 3 assists in 2 Champions League games. Why is it that now you're back with 1 goal in 1 Premier League game and 1 goal in 1 Champions League game? Even in the national team, you scored 4 goals and 2 assists in 2 appearances, averaging 3 per game."
Maël knew that the other party was teasing and taunting him, and sneered: "Averaging 1 goal per game and you're still complaining? Are you crazy?"
After joking, his expression became serious, and he smiled: "Too tired, right? Just take a good rest today, and it will be fine after the game against Chelsea."
He said this with confidence, not only in his current strength, but also in his strength at that time.
After yesterday's training, his lv4 Arc Blade and lv4 Arc Guiding were only about 20 points of proficiency away from the final breakthrough! To pursue the pleasure of simultaneously breaking through the limits, he even spent extra time practicing the Arc Guiding, which originally had slightly less proficiency, so that the two skills would likely break through on the same day.
These next few days, he'll intensify his training. When the time comes, he'll equip the three maxed-out skills and use Chelsea as a practice opponent! Others may not know, but he is very clear about the power of lv5 skills. In November, the Premier League and Champions League arenas will definitely see a new level of player.
"Conserve your energy." Gilbert patted Maël's shoulder and exhaled, saying, "We're already 46 Premier League games unbeaten. As long as we get past Chelsea, the next opponents shouldn't be too much of a threat."
"To beat Chelsea, we still have to rely on you. I've always felt that Arsenal's ability to break the record depends on your form."
"Haha..." Maël smiled. Gilbert's combination of flattery and pressure was really hard to answer. He could only say, "We will win, but don't underestimate the opponents after that. Underestimating them makes it easy to lose."
Gilbert nodded and didn't speak anymore, continuing to watch the game on TV.
In this game, Reading still scored first. Arsenal seemed to have been a bit unlucky in the last three games, always inexplicably conceding a goal to the opponent.
Fortunately, the overall strength of their players was still stronger than that of a newly promoted team like Reading. In the end, with goals from Van Persie and Walcott, Arsenal defeated Reading 3-1 away, advancing to the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
"Aiming for Stamford Bridge! Stumbling Arsenal Pursues an Undefeated October!" - London Evening Standard
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